Penguin 2.0 has officially arrived and web publishers across the planet are starting to feel its bite.
Google’s latest algorithm is a big deal and, if its anything like the original Penguin, will be the topic of discussion on SEO forums for months to come.
Here’s what we know about Penguin 2.0 so far.
An Official Update
Google is a highly secretive company so the mere fact that Google Webspam chief Matt Cutts announced Penguin 2.0 on his blog tells you a lot about the magnitude of this rollout.
Though he didn’t give a lot of details, he did say:
About 2.3% of English-US queries are affected to the degree that a regular user might notice. The change has also finished rolling out for other languages world-wide. The scope of Penguin varies by language, e.g. languages with more webspam will see more impact.
Given the huge number of Google searches on any given day, 2.3% represents around 23 million queries. That said, early reports indicate that Penguin’s impact is hitting some sectors a lot harder than others.
According to data posted on SearchEngineLand.com porn sites and gaming sites are feeling Penguin’s bite particularly hard. In fact, eight of the top 25 most impacted sites reported by SearchMetrics are adult focused. Given the sometimes questionable links associated with some of these sites, that’s not particularly surprising.
SearchMetrics is also reporting that German language sites are getting hit a lot harder than US sites, so far.
Countering Penguin 2.0
Penguin 2.0 has been on the horizon for a long time now and most web publishers with an eye for SEO seem pretty well prepared for it. The best shot at staying ahead of Penguin (1.0 or 2.0) is sticking to Google-approved white hat linking techniques – though even that offers no guarantees.
Expect to hear plenty more about Penguin 2.0 in the weeks and months ahead.
Have you been impacted by Penguin 2.0? Share your experiences in the comments section below.